For the first time since moving into the house at the Lake, I put a Christmas wreath on the front door for the holidays. Nothing special, just a store bought wreath made of live pine tree limbs decorated with white pine cones and a big red bow. It does make the house looking inviting. So inviting that a little bird has moved in and made it her home. I am delighted and amused to have what I think is a brown finch living in the wreath on my front porch. (Little bird moves so fast that I can't really get a good look at her.) We discovered our uninvited visitor when she dive bombed our human holiday guests upon their arrival for a party. I was skeptical until first Marty and then me were startled by our dive bombing little feathered friend.
For the last two weeks I have been struggling with the "do I or don't I" question of leaving the wreath in place until spring. Marty is over having to signal his arrival at the front door in order to avoid startling Little Bird and her resulting panic. While it is quite a show for the neighbors to see me banging on the railing and shouting at the front door that "I am coming in", I now have devised an effect warning system. My struggle is leaving Christmas decorations up well past the expiration date. I don't want to become one of those people. In our very neighborhood, there is a couple who literally covers their lawn with the entire section of Walmart's Halloween department and doesn't removed a single decoration until the following Halloween when they cull the broken and damaged decorations to make room for the new ones they purchased.
Marty and I have enjoyed our pithy banter about our neighbor's holiday tradition and now, here I am contemplating keeping our Christmas wreath in place for several months beyond what is appropriate. I mean didn't even Clark Griswold take his holiday decorations down at the appropriate time. Of course, I keep thinking about Little Bird and how cold it is at night and how warm it is on our front porch. I am only going to keep it up until March, April the latest. Unless I hear a strong argument otherwise, the wreath will stay in place. I can withstand the stares and if, given a chance I will over explain as I have been known to do in other situations. So what do you think? Should I or shouldn't I?
Hugs
C